Keane is revelling in captain's role

Tom Huddlestone believes Robbie Keane has become a better player since taking over as Tottenham captain.

The Irishman has been a regular stand-in for injury-prone skipper Ledley King this season and his form has flourished. Saturday's goal in the 3-0 win at Derby was his 19th in all competitions.

Were Keane or Dimitar Berbatov to pick up an injury, Spurs' attacking options would be seriously compromised - and midfielder Huddlestone is well aware of the former's importance to Juande Ramos' side.

The 21-year-old said: "Since Robbie has had the armband, his game has gone up to another level, and that is fantastic for us. He is leading by example. He has been amazing.

"Since I have been at the club, he has scored plenty of goals in every season.

"People have said in the past that he scored the great goals and not always the more simple ones but I see a player who scores all sorts of goals.

"They don't come much simpler than the first at Derby, but he was there to put it away, and as long as he is scoring we don't mind how they go in."

Berbatov is likely to return to the starting line-up for Thursday's UEFA Cup tie at Slavia Prague after making a huge impact as a second-half substitute for Darren Bent at Derby.

But manager Ramos will be without centre-back Michael Dawson, who picked up a hamstring injury early on at Pride Park that is likely to rule him out for up to three weeks - meaning he is set to miss the Carling Cup final against Chelsea on 24 February.

Jonathan Woodgate should return at the back after missing the victory at Derby through suspension, but doubts remain about the fitness of Ledley King, who was "rested" on Saturday.